We believe that discipleship is central to Christ's message of the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Reclaiming what it means to be Christ-followers, by implementing the principles and practices He taught us, will bring about lasting life-change and spiritual offspring. DEM seeks to educate, inspire, equip, and train everyday followers of Christ to adhere to the will and ways of God our Father, thus becoming more like Christ in our inner person and outer practice.

Some Salient Features of Liberation Theology and Liberation Ideology (3 of 3)

“Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives” – 2 Peter 3:11 NIV

Under the ideological banner of “identity politics” the radical left is continuing its long march through America’s institutions, particularly universities, the media, Hollywood and the Democratic Party.

Since the seventies, the radical liberation movements have established a political base in the universities, purging conservative faculty and texts, and transforming scholarly disciplines into political training programs. These liberation training programs are referred to as “oppressive studies,” “social justice studies,” “feminist studies,” “whiteness studies,” and the like.

So advanced this transformation has become that a principled liberal and prominent gay activist, Andrew Sullivan, felt impelled to sound an alarm.

He pointed out that this radical movement posed an existential (personal existence) threat to the American order of pluralism (a diversity of views) and individual freedom:

The whole concept of an individual who exists apart from group identity is slipping from the public discourse. The idea of individual merit—as opposed to various forms of unearned “privilege”—is increasingly suspect. The enlightenment principles that formed the bedrock the American experiment—untrammeled free speech, due process, individual (rather than group) rights—are now routinely understood as mere masks for white male power—code words for oppression of women and nonwhites. Any differences in outcome for various groups must always be a function of “hate,” rather than a function of nature or choice or freedom or individual agency. And anyone who questions these assertions is obviously a white supremacist. (look to his article,” we-all-live-on-campus” from nymag.com).

The only thing Sullivan missed in his ominous warning was the eradications of the principles of religious freedom, the foundation of Christianity and the massive genocide of Christians in other parts of the globe. Throughout the world, followers of Christ are being threatened and Christians are fleeing for their lives. This is exactly what the oppressive ideologues desire.

Below is a “key code” to understanding the difference between the Liberation Ideologies and The Biblical view and Biblical Behaviors.

LT/I= Liberation Theology and or Ideologies

BV/BB= Biblical View and Biblical Behaviors

LT/I: Groupism is a strong component in the liberation movements. The emphasis is on group rights or group identity rather than the individual. Each group is considered, “oppressed.” To erase individual features and circumstances, and to collectivize people into victim groups, the liberation proponents employ ideological terms like “sexism” and “people of color” etc.

For example:

Before the invention of the term, “sexism,” there were a multitude of adjectives to describe specific bad behaviors, involving men and women: “inappropriate,” “indecent,” “rude,” “prejudiced,” “offensive,”—all the way to criminal behaviors such as molestation and rape. These adjectives describe a spectrum of behaviors with gradations from what is merely annoying to what is prosecutable. The term sexism erases these distinctions and obliterates nuances and individual circumstances by making all these behaviors instances of sexual oppression.

Once the obliteration of specific detail takes place, “sexism” can even make a compliment— “My you’re good-looking”—appear to be an example of gender oppression, and prosecutable as such. An “inappropriate” or “offensive” remark might demonstrate poor judgment. But a “sexist” remark is a criminal injustice.

The liberation pundits in the progressive party have also coined the phrase, “people of color.” Like “sexism,” this term, too, has entered the general language. “People of color” is an ideological device whose sole purpose is to promote the idea that people of color are a group of oppressed by the only people who are not “of color”—white people and especially white men.

These politically correct words and phrases are weapons in the war of “resistance” against those who differ from them especially anyone that espouses a patriotic loyalty to America or the traditional family. Why? Because they represent the oppressors.

The next time you see a person wearing a “resist” T-Shirt ask them what or who are they resisting and why? Listen to their response.

BV/BB

Throughout the Bible, individuals are always responsible for their actions and the results of those actions (whether good or bad).

There is nothing vague or obscure about a person’s accountability for their own behavior. The parables of Jesus Christ are replete with the concept of being a faithful steward or manager of one’s individual talents and abilities.

“So, he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer’” – Luke 16:2 NIV

Recognizing that individuals make choices, which affect their destinies, puts the responsibility for overcoming the handicaps of circumstance squarely on the individual’s shoulders.

Notice the following verses:

“That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” – Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NLT

“Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.” – Romans 14:12 NLT

LT/I: There are no distinctions of the legitimate poor as compared to those who simply will not work. Because one’s sin is not personal, people are not responsible for their economic plight. The solution is to take money from the rich (a subjective guess as to who really qualifies as, “rich”) and give it to the poor (even if the poor are personally irresponsible).

BV/B: The Bible is straight forward— if a person does not work, they do not eat.

“For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” … 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat” – 2 Thessalonians 3:10, 12 NIV

LT/I: The present generation must repay if one’s ancestors or race committed crimes, sins or atrocities upon the oppressed. When our eldest grandson was in 7th grade, he came home from school one day and said to me: “Papa, my English teacher said that we (past Americans) stole our land from the Indians and now we owe them reparations.” The liberation ideology is alive and well isn’t it?

A very brief response to that accusation (which, by the way is a dominant theme in the world of academia), is to ask the question: “what Indian tribe stole from another tribe to gain the land?”

BV/BB

The Bible teaches that each person is responsible for their own sin.

“Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin” – Deuteronomy 24:16 NIV

This false notion that I, as a follower of Christ, am responsible for the sins of the Crusades, or the atrocities of past so-called “Christians” is simply not true. I do not need to confess the sins of the past generation, even if I am related to them, or of so-called Christians. I am responsible for my own sin and if I have wronged someone, I must make it right by going back to the one I offended.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift” – Matthew 5:23-24 NIV

Another biblical truth that is important to emphasize is: all people are sinners, that have personally violated God’s standard of right and wrong and His perfect righteous character (see Romans 3:23). We must confess, repent, accept Christ forgiveness and then follow our Lord Jesus Christ with demonstrative obedience.

Please attempt to have the spirit of the descendants of Issachar who “understood the times and knew what Israel should go… (1 Chronicles 12:32).

Here are a few definitive actions you can take

• Speak up and into the culture when you encounter various expressions of this hideous ideology.

• Begin writing articles on you own blog and then alert people to them from facebook or Instagram or snap-chat, etc. etc.

• Write an article and send it to your pastors, elders, or other influential leaders in your church.

• Write an opinion about the role of Christians in politics from a biblical perspective.

• Share your conversations with not-yet-Christians about these subjects.

• Write a article about Liberation Theology/Ideology and discuss it in your small group study.